On London Extra: Gulls, Greens and GCSEs

Seagull stories, Seven Sisters market, exam joy, East End wash houses and discount book deals. And more, more, more.

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Last week's edition of Extra made a determined effort to be cheerful. This was sustained until the point was reached when a sidekick of Nigel Farage had to be rebuked. This week's edition will observe the same principle of maintaining a sunny disposition for as long as stocks last, beginning with an item about....


SEAGULLS!

I love the sound of their racket in the mornings, the thought of a mob of them colonising Hackney Downs (see above), and their enterprising foraging for scraps. Their calls make me feel closer to London's history, reminding me about its past as a major port and that the Thames is tidal to Teddington.

They can also be a pain and a pest. Searching for seagull stories, I found one from March 2022 in which the BBC reported that Westminster City Council had "hired a hawk" to dissuade gulls from dive-bombing people, small dogs and pigeons in Soho.

Asked if the new (Labour) administration elected that May has retained the services of a bird of prey, WCC, contradicting the BBC, said no hawk had ever been on the council's payroll and that the one referred to had actually been employed by the Greater London Authority.

They have made it plain that, whatever arrangement may have obtained in the recent past, they have no truck with any seagull-seeking feathered predators these days. I have approached City Hall for clarification. A Pulitzer may be within my grasp.